Category: Information Technology

Dark Patterns regulation guidelines — how it brings dishonest online market practices to light

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Dark patterns refer to deceptive user interface designs employed by online services such as websites or applications to influence users to make decisions they otherwise might not. These misleading tactics are pervasive, extending from popular news websites to your favourite food delivery application. In response to the aforesaid issue, the Department of Consumer Affairs introduced Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns under Section 18 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (“Guidelines”). 

Their primary objective is to curb dishonest practices and promote transparency in the online marketplace. This marks a significant and commendable stride, considering that the Indian legal framework had been largely silent on dark patterns until now. The Guidelines define dark patterns as “any practices or deceptive design patterns using UI/UX (user interface/user experience) interactions on any platform; designed to mislead or trick users into doing something they originally did not intend or want to do; by subverting or impairing the consumer autonomy, decision making or choice; amounting to a misleading advertisement or unfair trade practice or violation of consumer rights.”

These Guidelines apply to (i) all platforms offering goods or services in India; (ii) to advertisers; and (iii) to sellers; and prohibit engagement in dark patterns by any person, including platforms. Dark patterns are influenced by human thinking and are designed deliberately to get you to click somewhere where you don’t want to or get you to agree to something you don’t want to. Under the Guidelines, 13 (thirteen) deceptive patterns have been outlined as banned. The most common patterns include:

1. False Urgency: This dark pattern refers to an act of misleading a user into believing that there is a false sense of urgency or scarcity to persuade them to act quickly and make a purchase, e.g. showing false popularity of a product or service to influence a user’s decision. A lot of times, when users are adding products to their cart, there is an instant pop-up stating, “only a few items are left”, when in fact the product remains in stock even after weeks (sometimes even at reduced prices!).
2. Basket Sneaking: This dark pattern is the act of automatically adding extra items like products, services, charitable contributions or donations during the checkout process on a platform without the user’s consent, resulting in an unintended increase in the total amount payable by the user. The most common example being the Rs. 1/- donation, which is automatically added during checking out and does not usually meet the eyes of the customers (given that the addition made to the cart is almost negligible).
3. Forced Action: This dark pattern refers to compelling a user to purchase extra items, subscribe to unrelated services, or share personal information just to access or buy the initially desired product or service. A very common example of ‘Forced Action’, is that of gated websites. There are numerous websites/applications which allow the users to access the information/data only after signing up. These are a means to collect personal data for targeted advertisements, et al. 
4. Subscription traps: Also known as a “Roach Motel”, this pattern makes it difficult or impossible for users to cancel a subscription, such as by requiring them to call a customer service number or navigate through a complex maze of menus. There are several applications, which do not show the option of closing or de-activating the account in a straight-forward manner. In a market where every user is not tech savvy or has the patience of going through several steps to de-activate his/her account, the accounts of such users remain active, thereby granting perpetual access to their personal data.

Punishment for engaging in Dark Patterns

Post induction of Guidelines, the Consumer Protection Act has inculcated an Annexure, namely Annexure 1, whereby penalties and punishments are prescribed for Dark Pattern practices reported till date. The said Guidelines are newly inducted and hence, are only indicative in nature and do not envisage an exhaustive list of all the Dark Pattern practices which may be devised by online aggregators and advertisers in the future.

Under the current regime, any non-compliance exposes Dark Pattern users to punishments, such as imprisonment for up to 6 months or a fine of up to ₹20 lakh, or both. This is in addition to the pre-existing punishments prescribed under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 for false, deceptive and misleading advertisements floated around by Dark Pattern which are punishable with imprisonment up to 2 years and a fine of up to ₹ 10 lakh. The stringency of the said punishments increases many folds for Dark Pattern users who are identified as repeat offenders.

Anticipating the insurgency of new Dark Pattern practices in the future, the said guidelines are expected to mitigate such future  practices by empowering consumers, civil society, and market players to report new instances of Dark Patterns, through an institutionalised and automated feedback mechanism, to the Department of Consumer Affairs. The Department, post evaluation, may notify and include the same in Annexure 1 of the said guidelines. This approach endeavours to encourage industry self-regulation with necessary proctoring by the Department of Consumer Affairs and ultimately aims to boost online consumer protection.

The internet is flooded with content aimed at grabbing attention, but there’s a distinction between trustworthy content and manipulative tactics like subscription traps. Legislation like the Information Technology Rules of 2011 and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act of 2023 prioritises obtaining informed consent before collecting sensitive personal data. 

To mitigate such unwarranted collection of data legislations, like the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011 are enacted which specifically mandate the requirement of a user’s informed consent before their sensitive personal data is collected.

Similarly, the newly enacted Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 places importance on obtaining explicit consent from the Data Principal before processing such data. Implicit or opt-out consent which lacks a clear, positive, and affirmative action is not considered valid under these regulations. 

The Global trend towards prioritising a user’s free and informed consent is evident in data protection laws worldwide. For instance, in the US, the California Consumer Privacy Rights Act, 2020, and the California Consumer Privacy Act, 2018 and in the EU, legislations such as the General Data Protection Act, the Digital Services Act, the Digital Markets Act, and the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive recognize dark patterns and discourage their usage by rendering consent obtained through them invalid, which in turn, provides safeguards against such manipulative tactics online.

Notably, the French Data Protection Act resulted in a €8 million fine on Apple for implementing the ‘personalised ads’ setting as the default without prior consent thereby making it challenging to change the setting through multiple steps. Another such instance of dark patterns is observed on the online platform of an e-Commerce Giant which makes it challenging for a user to disband its account once created, thus creating a vicious trap. 

In conclusion, despite the enactment of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act in 2023, there is still a notable gap in safeguarding against Dark Patterns. The Act does not directly address the interfaces or designs utilised by Dark Patterns operators, who often manipulate user experience under the pretext of creative freedom. Consequently, such designs evade classification under deceptive advertising or personal data piracy, highlighting the need for further regulatory measures.

—The authors; Juhi Khanna, is Senior Associate in the Corporate and Commercial practice, and Manbhar Mittal and Aman Jhawar, are associates in the Dispute Resolution & ADR practice, at law firm Gravitas Legal.   

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Cyber attacks in healthcare — here’s the deadly war the world doesn’t talk about, yet 

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A more silent war has been going on for quite a while, under our radar. It is not televised, and images of ruin and human suffering have not yet surfaced, its soldiers and weapons unseen. And yet, it’s very dangerous, affecting more and more people around the world- millions at a time, to be exact. 

Cyber warfare has become one of the most dangerous means of war, in accordance with the technological advances of our time. Countries and governments, or hacker groups who act in their name, carry out such attacks cheaply and discreetly. As more and more aspects of our lives become digitalised, the impact cyber-attacks have on us simultaneously increases. Worryingly enough, the healthcare sector is hit hardest, as it can kill. It’s no more about data breaches, it’s about human lives.

2023 has been the worst year ever recorded globally for cyberattacks aimed at healthcare organisations, with no less than 116 million human beings affected in the US only, this being more than double than in 2022, and many more worldwide! Just to name a few; 7 million patients of Delta Dental of California were warned their data was stolen and possibly manipulated in June 2023.

In Seattle’s Fred Hutch cancer centre, some 800,000 people’s data was stolen and access disabled, and a ransom of $50 per patient was demanded for the removal of a single person’s details. In May 2023, 2.5 million patients of Louisville’s Norton Healthcare were also victims of a similar attack.

HCA Healthcare, the US largest for-profit hospital system, reportedly suffered a “theft” of health data affecting as many as 11 million patients. Just last month, Ardent Health Services said it suffered a ransomware attack. The system, which operates 30 hospitals in six states, said hospitals have had to postpone elective surgeries and temporarily divert services.

These attacks aren’t exclusive to the USA; German hospital chain KHO has reported that three of its hospitals were victims to such ransom cyber-attacks, leading to the hospitals’ entire computer systems being shut, with patients having to be transferred to other institutions, as their medical data became inaccessible.

The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) published its first-time report on healthcare cyber-attacks, based on data collected between 2021-2023. It’s conclusions are astounding; the majority of the attacks were targeting healthcare providers and hospitals, 53% and 42% respectively. 46% of the total incidents targeted healthcare data, 83% were financially motivated, and 10% had ideological motivation. 22% of the attacks disrupted the actual delivery of healthcare services to patients.

Also Read: What makes cyber shields indispensable in India?

India is also facing a sharp rise in cyber-attacks. 2022 already saw a rise of 24% in cybercrime; the NCRB states that 64.8% of the cybercrimes were fraud motivated, followed by extortion (5.5%), and sexual exploitation (5.2%). Data for 2023 is as worrisome – an astonishing 10,319 crore was lost to online frauds across the sub-continent between April 2021- December 2023 only, with Delhi leading with the highest per capita cybercrime complaints in India in 2023.

Last year’s G20, which was hosted in India, was also a target for cyber-attacks;  Multiple government and law enforcement websites were attacked by different cyber groups. The official G20 website was also a target, and a distributed denial of service (DDoS) was launched against it. Statista released their report in December 2023, and claimed that the IT, Healthcare, Manufacturing and Finance sectors were most likely to be targeted, and that only as low as 24% of all Indian companies were adequately prepared to take on cyber-attacks. 

India’s healthcare sector has specifically been hit hard with India’s top institutions such as the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and corporate drug makers like Sun Pharmaceuticals  been attacked. (ICMR)  potentially suffered the largest data breach in Indian history, exposing the personally identifiable information (PII) of 81 crore Indians, while AIIMS,  suffered a loss of 1.3TB data containing 40 million records back in November 2022. Cybercrime involving large health institutions is becoming more complex and multi-layered.

Ransomware groups are currently infiltrating software and encrypting networks  mostly seeking payments from hospitals and other healthcare providers to restore access to networks. Attackers further also simply steal patient records as well. They simultaneously exfiltrate data and hold it for ransom as well, commonly referred to it as the double-layered extortion. This is outright warfare.

We might not intuitively treat it as such, but it may be time that we do so. Millions of people affected, their private data stolen, possibly manipulated and often made inaccessible to their healthcare providers, unless paid for. This directly impacts patients privacy, safety and more importantly medical outcomes. When they attack a hospital, they are sometimes shutting down life critical systems, from diverting ambulances to sabotaging ICU systems and more. 

In turn, medical institutions are less trusted by the people, consequently affecting public and private healthcare services of all kinds. Such attacks are also known to have broader psychological impact, considering how unsuccessful governments and institutions have been so far in dealing with such attacks, and preventing them from happening.

Why fight army to army, spend billions of a country’s defence budget, when you can cost-effectively, remotely play with people’s lives, or at least set whole nations on a medical and psychological frenzy?! Just imagine a family member of yours who is allergic to a number of medications. Not having access to his medical records would mean a doctor won’t necessarily know this life-saving information.

If governments, and healthcare providers of all kinds fail to address this new war and implement effective responses, these attacks will become deadlier over time, not just resulting in financial losses and psychological distress, but in many human losses.

Not far are the days in which robotic surgeries will be disrupted, patient monitoring in acute care settings will deliver false data, diagnoses alongside e-prescriptions manipulated and patient data not only publicly exposed but sold and leveraged against innocent people for political or intelligence gains; all resulting in loss of health and life. With global geopolitical instability and a few proxy wars already going on, cyber warfare, might just be our next pandemic. AI may be part of the solution, but is also clearly part of the problem, fueling the capabilities and increase in cyberattacks. 

We must address this issue strategically and publicly, and work to create a global coalition to find solutions to this pressing threat, before hacktivists, extremists or other terrorist groups turn medical cyber into one of their most attractive and borderless methods of war. Healthcare service providers of all kinds must prioritise cybersecurity, now.

It’s not just a financial matter; it’s about saving human lives.

—The author, Sigal Atzmon, is Founder and CEO of Medix Global, and a thought leader and influencer. The views expressed are personal. 

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Zoomed Out | Why ESOP exacts a cost though it remains an excellent employee retention tool

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Employees’ Stock Option Plan (ESOP) might have had its origins in the US IT sector but it had long ago penetrated the Indian IT sector as well so much so that stories of Infosys’ drivers and peons striking it rich have come to sound old and dated.  It is back in the news because recently a relatively low-profile company Coforge had to increase the ESOP pool by 1.9 million shares after presumably exhausting them.  

ESOP as an employee retention tool has been traditionally associated with higher echelons of a company where normally key talent resides but Infosys showed that it can be democratically offered across the board including to the rank and file. 

How does ESOP work

A listed company offers a specified number of its shares to its employees on the condition that it will vest in them only after a specified number of years, say three. The minimum vesting period as per the SEBI norms is one year. Unlisted companies are not bound by the SEBI norms. If they quit before completing the vesting period, they will not get the shares. 

There is now an alignment of employee interests with those of the company he works for— he will give his everything to make the company succeed in terms of profits and growth. In other words, his growth and prosperity lies in the growth and prosperity of his employer.  Dividend from his holdings can be astronomical if both perform well and market price will correspondingly soar giving rise to handsome capital gains on sale of such shares by the employee. So, ESOP is an excellent retention and reward tool insofar as employees are concerned. Indeed, one couldn’t have thought of anything better.

Now comes the nitty gritty. Section 62 of the Companies Act, 2013 seeks to protect the rights of existing shareholders from they getting diluted.  Therefore, the norm is rights issue — if a public company seeks to increase its subscribed share capital, it has to make offer of shares in proportion to his existing holdings. 

To wit, if a company has already issued one crore shares of ₹10 each and I hold 1000 shares out of these, my stakes are just 0.0001 but that doesn’t mean my rights can be trifled with. So, should the company seek to double its capital by issuing another one crore share, each shareholder will get letter of offer that entitles him to subscribe to additional shares so that his inter se rights remain intact. 

Accordingly, I would get a letter entitling me to subscribe to another 1,000 shares at the price fixed. Two things must be noted however.  First while the company is bound to offer, I am not obliged to accept.  But I am not allowed to play dog in the manger. If I don’t want, I can renounce all the 1000 shares or any part of it to anyone of my choice. 

Alternatively, I can make money by selling the offer letter in the market which is win-win for both me and the buyer — if the offer price is ₹60 per share whereas its market quotation is ₹150, we can share the spoils. I sell the rights @ ₹ 40 per share and get ₹40,000 without expending anything. The buyer gets to buy 1000 shares @ ₹100 per share (40 to me and 60 to the company) whereas in the market would cost him ₹150 per share in the market.  

Secondly, the law on rights issue isn’t cast in stone.  A thaw is provided by section 62 itself— if a company passes a special resolution, rights offer can be bypassed in favour of others.  This happens when a foreign collaborator has to take up a stake in the company or a machinery or technology supplier prefers equity of the company instead of cash.  And more importantly, it happens when a company goes for ESOP.  

As far as accounting is concerned, if the price at which the shares are allotted to the employees on the vesting date corresponds to its market price. There is no element of salary in the transaction whereas should there be a concession vis-à-vis the market value such concession would constitute a perquisite and taxable as such in his hands. Such perks correspondingly can be booked as employee cost or salary by the employer. 

Do ESOP makes a dent in the share value

Any discussion on ESOP would be incomplete till we address the moot question if it makes a dent in the share value. The conservative view is repeated marginalisation of the shareholders by offering shares to outsiders including the employees devalues their investments especially when the full fair value of the shares allotted to employees is not recovered from them and the larger number of shares reduces the earnings per share (EPS). 

But the debate is never-ending because the progressive view is ESOP keeps the morale of the employees high and thus produces a virtuous cycle.  The truth is ESOP must be attractive to the employees and if in the process the shareholders are forced to make sacrifice, in the long run such a sacrifice adds and not detracts from the net worth of the shareholders. At any rate, the shareholders have to grin and bear when they pay directly (through concession in pricing) or indirectly (by being kept out of the benefits of rights issue) for retention of employees.  

At any rate rights issue i.e., the existing shareholders continuing as the existing shareholders for all times to come is not a pragmatic but counterproductive vision sustainable only in closely-held companies.  In large listed companies, such insularity and incestuousness may prove to be counterproductive.  Old or original shareholders have to yield and sacrifice in favour of collaborators, technology suppliers and talented employees in their own interest.

—The author, S Murlidharan, is a Chartered Accountant and columnist. The views expressed are personal.    

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Zoomed Out | Gig workers, Cyber nomads — why India should follow Australia’s ‘closing the loopholes’ Bill

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Gig workers are mushrooming across the globe. In the US, young and energetic men and women use their spare time to use their personal cars as taxis. Uber has been at the forefront of encouraging such productive use of spare time. So much so, it has lauded the Australian initiative codified in the ‘closing the loopholes Bill’. India should take a leaf out of the Australian law once it is signed as such. Europe has blazed the trail already by recognizing the right to disconnect among others.

The Australian law in the making gives thumbs up to the right to disconnect which consists in gig workers having the right to say no to working at ungodly hours as well as on holidays and weekends by disconnecting or logging out.

Gig workers are supposed to be on call which expression has sadly come to mean at the beck and call of their numerous opportunity providers. Doctor in Indian cities especially surgeons are supposed to wake up from their sleep at ungodly hours and respond to hospitals that sends out of the urgent message. 

Of course, there is mutuality of interest in such an arrangement — hospitals not having to keep a large number of doctors and surgeons on their payrolls which is expensive and doctors not able to afford their own clinics economically able to tap into the infrastructure of big hospitals without being tied to them.

Gig workers are more common in the Information Technology (IT) sector which is why they are also known as cyber nomads with a touch of condescension.  It is for a techie to choose if she wants to be tied exclusively to a company in return for an assured salary with annual and retirement benefits or be an independent contractor working for whoever choosing to avail her services on mutually acceptable terms. 

As one’s expertise grows and comes to be recognised in the industry, greater the confidence in the individual to pitch her own tent. Incidentally, it may be mentioned the Indian IT biggies especially Infosys have a sneaking suspicion that in a milieu of Work From Home (WFH), employees virtually become gig workers by moonlighting on the side and sly. Be that as it may.  But for an employee there is an issue of morality and ethics— if she should work for others on the sly. The more honourable course for her is to declare that she is indeed a cyber nomad. 

Right To Disconnect

Coming back to right to disconnect, there is no reason why independent contractors should be at the beck and call of their benefactors though with hospitals there is a compelling case for such attitude especially in emergencies. A doctor, more so a surgeon, cannot shy away from an emergency whereas a car owner, keeping Uber app in one pocket and Ola app in another should have no qualms about disconnecting one or both. 

Parenthetically, it may be pointed out that under the Indian income tax law, while salary of regular employees is taxed as such i.e., as income from salaries, gig workers’ remuneration is taxed as from business or profession where there is a great deal of latitude in booking expenses and bring tax liability to the minimum at the end of the day. The salaried class enjoys no such room for manoeuvre. Be that as it may again.

With the advent of service providing apps, be they ride hailing apps like Ola and Uber or niche area service providers like Urban Company, it has been a rewarding experience for both consumers and the service providers. A carpenter or plumber doesn’t mind sharing a good sliver of his earnings from a household because he is assured of being kept busy throughout the working day just like a cab driver. Households too lap up such gig workers as they are spared of the burden of haggling with them if they were to independently look for and hire them.

It is hoped the Indian government makes a comprehensive law in this regard with feather touch regulations and not with a sledge hammer.  

—The author, S Murlidharan, is a Chartered Accountant and writes on tax, finance and legal matters. The views expressed are personal.     

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Sasken Technologies wants to focus on growth over margins

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Rajiv C Mody, Chairman and Managing Director of Sasken Technologies, a prominent player in product engineering and digital transformation services, plans to prioritise growth over margins.

However, Mody also assured that the company will maintain margins at 14-15%.

The Bengaluru-based company’s third quarter margins contracted sequentially to 3.1% from 12.4%. Revenue was up 6% at ₹96 crore crore from ₹102.5 crore in the second quarter. Net profit rose was down 2% sequentially to ₹17.7 crore from ₹18.1 crore.

“I think the numbers were not in line with our expectations, primarily because of the fact that we concluded a large program. And that had an impact on the third quarter,” Mody stated.

Also Read | Sasken Technologies surges as much as 13% to hit a 52-week high on partnership with Qualcomm

Addressing the company’s focus on order wins, Mody highlighted a concerted effort towards securing larger orders, substantial deals, and extended-term agreements. He noted, “We have seen those moments happening in Q3 also, and that is a positive moment, and we see that momentum continuing.”

The company’s market capitalisation of ₹2,124.88 crore.

For more details, watch the accompanying video

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Netweb Technologies reiterates FY24 revenue, gross margin guidance

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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New Delhi-based Netweb Technologies, a leading provider of server, storage, and high-performance computing (HPC) solutions, reported a robust set of earnings for the third quarter of the current financial year.

The profit after tax for the quarter grew 20% year-on-year (YoY) to ₹26 crore from ₹21.68 crore in the same quarter last year. Revenue was at ₹257.91 crore, over 44% higher than ₹178.69 crore in Q3 last year. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amorisation (EBITDA) was around ₹39 crore, up 24% YoY. But margin contracted 248 basis points to 15%. One basis point is one hundredth of a percentage point or 0.01%.

In a post-earnings call with CNBC-TV18, Sanjay Lodha, the CMD of Netweb Technologies, discussed the earnings guidance for the rest of the year. He expects gross margins at 25-26% for FY24, while reiterating the 40% revenue growth target for the year.

“Our PAT has remained consistent at 10%, as per our earlier indications. We have consistently communicated that our gross margins would hover around 25-26%. Even in Q1 (first quarter), despite a margin of 37%, we forecast that the normal margins would stabilise at 25-26%,” he noted.

Read Here | Netweb Technologies jumps 10% on collaboration with NVIDIA for AI and high-performance computing

Netweb Technologies recently secured a fastest supercomputer order from the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO’s) Department of Space valued at ₹150 crore. The total order book now stands at ₹330 crore, Lodha had stated after making the announcement.

Elaborating on the challenges of quarter-on-quarter evaluations, Lodha highlighted the unpredictable nature of orders and projects. He emphasised that variations in margins over short periods are not a cause for concern, reassuring stakeholders that the company is on track to maintain the projected gross margin.

The market capitalisation of Netweb Technologies is ₹7,648 crore. The stock has gained nearly 57% over the past year.

Also Read | Cyient DLM reports highest ever revenue in a quarter, but shares cool off from day’s high

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Zensar Tech maintains mid-teens margin guidance, sees some pressure in Hi-Tech vertical

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Manish Tandon, MD & CEO of Pune-headquartered Zensar Technologies said the sequential decline in the third quarter revenue was primarily due to seasonality factors and the weaker than anticipated show of the Hi-Tech vertical, which is around 35-40% of the company’s exposure.

However, he noted the strong year-on-year growth across sectors. “South Africa for us is up 18% in constant currency. UK, Europe is up 12%. BFSI is up 12%, and MC, which is manufacturing and Consumer Services, is up 7.7%” he added.

Zensar Technologies‘ third quarter revenues were down 3.3% sequentially impacted by seasonal furloughs. The margin, at around 17.2%, was better than the company’s guidance of mid-teens margins, but lower sequentially.

Tandon said the company is confident of maintaining margin in the mid-teens.

He also discussed the potential acquisitions that the company is pursuing as part of its growth strategy. He said the firm is currently in talks with bankers regarding three prospective companies.

“We are sitting on about $250 million of cash. Almost every week, we are looking at companies which can fit with our strategy and come at a price where I can maintain my responsibility to the shareholders and not overpay for this thing,” Tandon stated.

Also Read | Zensar Technologies eyes strategic M&A for skill and capability boost

Zensar Technologies entered the healthcare sector as a vertical just two quarters ago. Tandon attributed the subdued show of the vertical to the completion of some large projects. However, the company is building up the healthcare team and is poised for growth in the coming quarters, he said.

Zensar stock has gained nearly 150% over the past year. Its current market capitalisation is around ₹12,717 crore.

For more, watch the accompanying video

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Mastek eyes margin in 17%-19% range with easing concerns on furloughs in Q4

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Digital engineering and cloud transformation company Mastek aims to maintain its margin trajectory in the 17%-19% range, Global CEO Hiral Chandrana said on January 19, a day after the firm reported its third quarter results.

In a post-earnings chat with CNBC-TV18, Chandrana noted that Mastek touched a 17% margin in the October to December 2023 quarter versus 16.1% in the preceding fiscal even as it announced wage hikes in the period under review.

The global CEO of the Mumbai-based firm said he was confident of an increase in margin in the coming quarters, but noted that it is likely to remain in the 17-19% range, which would allow for investments in new solutions and capabilities.

In the December ended quarter, Mastek saw a 1.5% growth in topline at $94 million, compared to $92.6 million in the last quarter. Its revenue grew 2.45% sequentially to ₹784.3 crore from ₹765.5 crore in the September ended quarter. Its profit after tax (PAT) increased 19.9% on a quarter-on-quarter basis to ₹75.3 crore.

Read here | Wipro sees net reduction of over 4,400 employees in Dec quarter, attrition at 10-quarter low

Chandrana highlighted that the firm’s order book has increased by 21% and added that the company is optimistic about deal momentum and demand environment.

He also pointed out that the Biz Analytica, which was acquired in August, has significantly contributed to the full quarter revenue. The division contributed $4 million in Q3 and $2.5 million in Q2, he noted.

Reflecting on furloughs, he said Q3 is traditionally a furlough quarter both for the UK as well the US. However, in Mastek’s digital business, particularly in the public sector, there is a continuous and healthy growth and Chandrana anticipates a normal and solid quarter with an increase in working days.

Also Read | HCL Technologies adds 3,818 freshers in Q3, attrition rate at 12.8%%

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Happiest Minds Technologies thrives in Indian market, reports Q3 earnings growth

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Happiest Minds Technologies, a leading digital transformation and IT consulting firm has announced that India has become its second-largest market, experiencing significant growth.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Venkatraman Narayanan, MD and CFO, and Joseph Anantharaju, EVC and CEO-Product Engineering Services at Happiest Minds Technologies, discussed the Q3 earnings for the December-ended quarter.

Narayanan highlighted the robust growth in the Indian market, stating, “The Indian market is concerned, that is showing real good growth in line with what we are seeing in the economy. And after the US, it’s the second-largest market for us. And that is showing decent traction with new logo sign-ups that we have done this year; I mean, from India, and from verticals like manufacturing and industrial, which are going well for us.”

Regarding potential acquisitions, Narayanan mentioned a decent pipeline in the discussion, emphasising the company’s intention to close deals that align and integrate seamlessly with their existing customer-focused initiatives.

Also Read | Happiest Minds reiterates guidance and expects M&A in next two months

Anantharaju, discussing margins, stated, “We would like a 22-24% guideline with the hope that we will continue beating it as we have done for the past 15 or 16 quarters.”

On January 17, Happiest Minds Technologies reported a 3.5% year-on-year rise in net profit, reaching ₹59.6 crore for the third quarter ending December 31, 2023. In the same quarter last year, the company posted a net profit of ₹57.6 crore. The company’s revenue from operations also increased by 11.7% to ₹409.9 crore compared to ₹366.9 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

Also Read | Happiest Minds Q3 Results | IT company’s net rises 3.5%, revenue up 12%

For more details, watch the accompanying video

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Why Manish Gunwani of Bandhan AMC is cautious about private banks

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Manish Gunwani of Bandhan AMC is cautious on private banks at this juncture as he believes they do not offer a great risk-reward balance both from a cyclical and structural perspective.

From a cycle perspective, with low credit costs, most banks appear similarly positioned in terms of profitability and growth. However, there’s still a valuation gap between low and high price-to-book financials that I believe will converge, he explained. This convergence might affect the perceived value of these institutions, he noted.

Structurally, he observed signs of changing customer behavior, particularly in the current account/savings account (CASA) segment.

“A lot of the high price-to-book private banks have business models centered around granular deposit franchises with the assumption of CASA growth. But, due to technological advancements and financial shifts, if CASA is becoming an issue, then the high multiples these banks enjoy are at risk,” Gunwani elaborated.

He suggested that if CASA growth stalls, the resulting pressure on spreads could significantly impact profitability.

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Gunwani also touched upon various sectors, noting the attractive nature of oil and gas companies and the potential tactical trade opportunities in the information technology (IT) sector, given expectations of a soft landing.

He also mentioned the increasing allure of unlisted companies attracting talent, hinting at possible wage pressures in the market.

“I think the big return globally in equities can only be made in 2024. If the Western Central Bank, specifically the Fed is more dovish than what general expectation is,” he said.

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On a positive note, Gunwani identified oil and gas companies, especially those involved in divestment plays, as attractive investment opportunities. Despite challenges in various sectors, these companies seem to present promising prospects for investors seeking opportunities in the current market conditions.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow